San Angelo ISD Authorities Wrangle With Bad Social Media

SAN ANGELO, TX — Last week, a threat against San Angelo Central High School students and faculty circulated across local accounts on social media. The threat promised violence in retaliation for bullying and claimed the violence would happen on a specified date that has now passed.

San Angelo ISD officials investigated the threatening social media post that appeared to look like a copy of a copy of a copy in very poor resolution. The San Angelo Police Department was called in to assist. Investigators confirmed the threatening post concerned a similarly named campus somewhere else in the country and that no threats were related to any campus in the San Angelo ISD.

Social media incidents like this are akin to bomb threats. The troubling impact of these types of incidents is they heighten the worries of parents and highlight the threat’s impact for the perpetrators, oftentimes encouraging copycats. San Angelo ISD smartly took aggressive, affirmative action and dispelled the rumors before the impact harmed public trust. San Angelo LIVE! will not publicize social media threats ahead of the conclusion of investigations by authorities unless authorities request assistance with publicity.

According to the San Angelo ISD in a prepared statement, “We take all matters of this nature seriously. The safety of our students is our first priority. We encourage everyone to report threats of any kind to a district or school official, local law enforcement, or report the concern on our district StayAlert link on the SAISD website. Student reports will be kept confidential.”